Jordan word

The World Bank has approved additional funding of $63.75 million for the COVID-19 Emergency Response Project in Jordan to support efforts to enhance safe, effective and equitable access to coronavirus vaccines, and accelerate the gradual vaccination program to reopen the economy, schools, and hardest-hit sectors.

This additional funding will support Jordan in achieving its target of vaccinating 75% of the adult population for early and resilient recovery.

The additional financing includes a $50 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, $12.5 million in concessional financing from the Global Concessional Financing Facility, and a $1.25 million grant from the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Trust Fund.

Commenting on this, Jordanian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nasser Al-Shraideh said: “The Jordanian government appreciates this additional financing to support vaccines, which is part of a financing package of $1.1 billion provided by the World Bank Group in cooperation with its international partners in the form of recently announced pooled loans and grants. To support Jordan in its efforts to respond to the Corona pandemic and to promote early and comprehensive recovery that is able to withstand climate changes.”

With concessional financing support from the Global Concessional Financing Facility, the project will provide universal and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for Syrian refugees; Jordan is one of the first countries in the world to list refugees as recipients of vaccines, according to the National Coronavirus Vaccination and Dissemination Guide. In addition, with financial support from the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Trust Fund, the project will strengthen the management of COVID-19 cases among Syrian refugees.

For his part, Minister of Health Dr. Firas Al-Hawari said: “The government has increased the pace of its efforts and set ambitious goals for vaccination in order to reopen the doors of the economy in a phased and safe manner. Funding support from the World Bank will help us achieve these goals.”

Commenting on this news, Saroj Kumar Jha, Regional Director of the Mashreq Countries Department at the World Bank Group, said: “Fair, broad and rapid access to coronavirus vaccines is critical to protecting lives and lays the groundwork for the recovery of the Jordanian economy. This additional financing will support Jordan in expanding its comprehensive and effective vaccination programme.”

Jordan remains highly vulnerable to the pandemic; By mid-June 2021, there were more than 739,000 cumulative confirmed cases of the virus, resulting in more than 9,500 confirmed deaths. It should be noted that Jordan started its campaign to vaccinate against the Corona virus on January 13, 2021, where more than 2 million adults were vaccinated with the first dose, equivalent to 33% of the adult population, while more than 800,000 adults were fully vaccinated, i. Approximately 13% of the adult population is eligible to receive the vaccine. The additional financing aims to enable Jordan to obtain much-needed vaccines from a range of vaccine sources in order to support its goal of having a range of options for access to vaccines according to the terms that Jordan deems appropriate to its circumstances (such as value for money, regulatory approvals, and delivery time of vaccines). among other features that govern his choices).

Since the beginning of the outbreak of the Corona virus pandemic, the World Bank Group has allocated more than 125 billion dollars to combat the health, economic and social effects of this pandemic, which is the fastest and largest response to crises in its history.

This funding is helping more than 100 countries enhance their pandemic preparedness, protect the poor and jobs, and embark on a climate-friendly recovery. The Bank is also providing $12 billion to help low- and middle-income countries purchase and distribute coronavirus vaccines and associated testing and therapeutic supplies.